Maxon Computer — developer of professional 3D modeling, painting, animation and rendering solutions — will make available Cinema 4D R8 (Release 8), an upgrade to its flagship 3D modeling and animation software, in mid-November.
Besides lots of new features, Release 8 has new modular paradigm that lets you purchase just the features you want, then expand your 3D toolset as you like with add-on modules. Seven modules — Advanced Render, Pyrocluster, Mocca, Net Render, Dynamics and BodyPaint 3D — are available now, with more planned for the future. Modules can be bought individually or as part of two bundles: Cinema 4D R8 XL Bundle and Cinema 4D R8 Studio Bundle.
Nearly all areas of Cinema 4D have been enhanced in Release 8; modeling, animation, rendering, and especially, workflow have been enhanced, according to Maxon. A new Attribute Manager provides the ability to make quick adjustments to parameters and provides all the options for the currently selected items.
Light inclusion and exclusion have also been added, offering the ability to pick and choose where, how and on what objects light objects will affect a scene. XPresso is Cinema 4D’s new node-editor, which allows you to visually build expressions and entire scripts, through the drag, drop and configuration of “box-like” nodes. Control groups can be built from combinations of objects and modifiers in this system then saved, loaded and reused in even more complex setups. XPresso can be used in conjunction with the Thinking Particles module for particle effects and with Mocca for advanced character animation.
A new F-Curve Manager (for organizing display lists of curves) and F-Curve Editor (for manipulating curves) replaces Cinema 4D’s old Timecurves, and Spacecurves. The new controls provide a greater degree of freedom and faster modification of keyframes, according to the folks at Maxon. Curves and keyframes can be displayed relative to each other; additionally, curves can be shared by multiple objects and controlled through the F-Curve Manager. A Thinking Particles module provides particle effects that can be controlled through object and particle interaction.
The application’s rendering engine is purportedly as much as 40 percent faster than previous versions. Open GL support has also been improved.
Cinema 4D R8 is currently shipping to European customers, and will be available through Maxon distributors worldwide in mid-November. Pricing starts at US$595 for the Cinema 4D R8 application. The XL and Studio bundles retail for $1,695 and $2,495, respectively. Current users of Cinema 4D XL R7 may upgrade for $495. Cinema 4D runs on Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X.